Book excerpt: The chemistry of reactive intermediates is central to a modern mechanistic and quantitative understanding of organic chemistry. Moreover, it underlies a significant portion of modern synthetic chemistry and is integral to a molecular view of biological chemistry. Reviews in Reactive Intermediate Chemistry presents an up-to-date, authoritative guide to this fundamental topic. Although it follows Reactive Intermediate Chemistry by the same authors, it serves as a free-standing resource for the entire chemical and biochemical community. The book includes: Relevant, practical applications Coverage of such topics as mass spectrometry methods, reactive intermediates in interstellar medium, quantum mechanical tunnelling, solvent effects, reactive intermediates in biochemical processes, and excited state surfaces Discussions of emerging areas, particularly those involving dynamics and theories Concluding sections identifying key directions for future research are provided at the end of each chapter